A friend mentioned she'd like a peek from Emmett's POV of what Carlisle may have had to say to him. So here it is! Thanks feeb01 for the 12 days of teh pretty last week!
Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie.
Upon the Threshold: EmPOV
I looked over at Bella in my truck. Her eyes all puffy and shit. I felt bad...really bad. I wouldn't blame her if she hated me. I guess I always figured she would in the end. I'd do something to fuck things up. And, of course, I did.
Every now and then, I'd see her eyes dart over toward me and I looked away. It's not that I cared if she knew I was looking at her. She and I were way past all that shit. It was just that I was having a hard time facing her. She didn't deserve this. She sure as hell didn't deserve me. If I'd just minded my own business, respected my brother and left her alone...none of it would have ever happened. But I guess I've always been just a selfish prick. Bella Swan Cullen deserved so much better than me. She deserved...Edward.
I still wasn't sure how I felt about that. Bella with Edward. Just thinking about it made me want to punch something. I knew I had no right to feel that way. I mean, you can't help who you're meant to be with...no more than I could help my connection with Rose. But the thought of him...kissing her...touching her...fucking her... made my blood boil.
I parked by the curb in front of my parents' house. I guess it'd be my home again now, too. I sat in the driver's seat for a while thinking about what I would say. Who would speak first? Who would "out" who? What would my mother say? How would my dad react? It wasn't until I glanced at Bella that I noticed my parents through the passenger side window. They were standing in their doorway looking at us and smiling. They were so happy to see us.
Shit! If I could have driven away at that moment, I would have. But Bella wouldn't have allowed that...she's all class, like my mom. We had to go in.
I opened Bella's door for her. I might have been an asshole, but I could be a gentleman, too. As we walked to the door, I looked at my wife...at least she was for now. She had that strong stubborn look; the one she always wore when there was no stopping her. I always envied quality. She'd always been so much stronger than me . Shit, I could damn near bench press my truck. But Bella, she carried her strength on the inside where it really mattered.
We no sooner got to the door when my Mom started going on and on about a surprise. She didn't get that we were upset...that our fucking lives were falling apart. No, she wanted us to close our damn eyes. I tried to stop her, but my Dad got all authoritative and demanded that we humor her.
Then, she pulled out a framed picture of Bella's name and she winked at me like I was supposed to know what it fucking meant.
I just wanted to shout "Stop the fucking games already. We need to talk to you!" But I couldn't. I knew my Mom meant well.
"Cute Mom. You painted Bella's name for her. Wow, that looks like the old green paint from the basement when we were kids."
That's when it hit me. It WAS the old green paint from the basement. It was the color Edward and I were supposed to paint over, except I left him to do it. Today, of all days, my mother chose to give Bella a token of affection... from fucking Edward!"
I looked over at my wife and she was holding the frame like it was a damn treasure; gently rubbing her fingers over each letter, tracing them like it was the fucking Mona Lisa---all priceless and shit.
Then she took her glasses off and my Mom noticed that her face was worn from crying. And, before I could stop her, she took my glasses off too. Then, instead of asking if we were okay, she started panicking about Edward and whether he was alright. Jesus..fucking..Christ! We were the ones crying and she was asking if something was wrong with Edward!
""No, Mom. Nothing is wrong with Edward. He's just fucking great!" I said with a little more edge than I probably should have used. My dad went off on me for speaking that way to my mom. And I knew I'd feel bad about it later, but at that moment I was too angry. Every fucking woman in my life was all worried about my piss ant little brother...while my life was falling apart.
We all sat there for a while, quiet. Then, my mom just couldn't let it go. "Obviously something is very wrong. Someone please tell us what is going on?" she asked.
I snapped, grabbing the painting from Bella's hands and yelling again. "This! This is what's wrong! I didn't paint this for Bella!"
Mom looked at me, completely confused. "What? I don't understand."
I tried to make her understand, but my words came out too emotionally charged. "I didn't paint the picture. I didn't carve the tree out back... I'm sure you've found that , too. I didn't do any of those things." Then it just tumbled from my lips, although I'd hadn't even considered saying it yet. "And Bella and I ...we're getting divorced!"
Bella punched the shit out of my arm, and I knew I deserved it. I'd just been a total ass to my mom; the very person I had been so worried about hurting. I looked into my mother's eyes, and they looked flat, lifeless...disappointed.
"Let's all sit down and sort this out." my father said as he moved to the dining room table. He insisted I start at the beginning, so I did. I told them everything. Everything about Rose in high school. Everything about Mrs. Hale. I told them about how Edward had told me he was hot for Bella and how I went after her anyway when Mrs. Hale told me she liked me. I spilled it all...so much that my Mom left the room followed by Bella.
My dad sat with his head in his hands. I watched him, trying to gauge his reaction. Then, when he finally looked up, there was no doubt.
Rage.
I had seen my father angry with me before...when I left my bike in the driveway, when I stayed out way past curfew without calling, when I failed a course at State because I kept oversleeping and it almost cost me my scholarship. But this...I'd never seen anything like this. My father was seething. He stared at me through slivers of red and said "I have never been more ashamed of you than I am right now."
"Dad, I know. I didn't know what to do. I was scared..."
"You were scared as a boy...and I can understand that. But, Son, boys don't get married. Boys don't buy homes. Boys don't plan families. You made those choices as a man. But you never manned up to the truth!"
"I did grow to love Bella. That was the truth."
"But Emmett, at what cost? You allowed that girl to live a lie. And your brother..."
He put his head back in his hands for a few moments before finishing. "Your mother cried so many nights wondering why Edward never came home to see us...why he wanted to move so far away. He came to you, trusted you, confided in you, counted on you... and you betrayed him! How could you do that...to your own brother? To bring that girl here on your arm for your brother to have to sit across from during holiday dinners and swallow down all the injustice he'd been dealt. And why? Because he was quiet, shy? Because he wasn't as aggressive as you? You bullied him and we allowed it. We failed him, Emmett! We all failed him! We failed Edward because we were all so busy catering to the Cullen boy who demanded the limelight that we neglected the one who preferred to hide in the shadows!"
My stomach sank as the venom of his words sunk into my gut and twisted around in there. It was harsh, callous, pitiless...and it was all true. Every word. It was ALL my fault. Edward leaving, Mom crying, Rose being alone all this time, Bella's unhappiness. It was all because of me. I watched my father hunched in his chair, all his fire expunged, his thumb and forefinger pinching the bridge of his nose as he always did when I'd disappointed him over the years. But this time it was different, irreparable. I looked at my father, my hero, my biggest fan, my role model...and I could no longer fight the anguish that began in the pit of my stomach and escaped my lips as sobs. I looked at my father and I knew that I'd failed him, too.
